Five medicinal plants used by traditional medical health practitioners (TMP) in Meru central district namely: Piliostigma thonningii, Ajuga remota, Ocimum suave, Erythrina abyssinica and Harissonia abyssinica were investigated for their antibacterial activity against standard bacterial cultures namely; Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antibacterial activity of the methanolic and water extracts was determined using the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Gram positive bacteria (S. aureus and B. cereus) were more susceptible to the plant extracts than Gram negative bacteria (E. coli and P. aeruginosa). The MIC and MBC of the positive control antibiotics (Ampicillin for gram positive and Gentamycin for gram negative) were less than 1mg/ml. The most susceptible bacteria was S. aureus followed by B. cereus while the most resistant was E. coli followed by P.aeruginosa. Methanolic extracts of P. thonningii stem and Ocimum suave leaves had the best antibacterial activity against the four bacterial species. There was no significant difference between the water and methanolic extracts of all the plants. These results justify the use of these plants by the traditional medical practitioners for management of bacterial conditions and further investigation on their safety and phytochemistry is needed.

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Traditional medicines play an important role in the management of chronically painful and debilitating joint conditions, particularly in the rural Africa. However, their potential use as sources of medicines has not been fully exploited. The present study was carried to find the medicinal plants traditionally used to manage chronic joint pains in Machakos and Makueni counties in Kenya. Materials and methods: To obtain this ethnobotanical information, 30 consenting traditional herbal med-ical practitioners were interviewed exclusively on medicinal plant use in the management of chronic joint pains, in a pre-planned workshop. Results and discussion: In this survey, a total of 37 plants belonging to 32 genera and 23 families were cited as being important for treatment of chronic joint pains. The most commonly cited plant species were Pavetta crassipes K. Schum, Strychnos henningsii Gilg., Carissa spinarum L., Fagaropsis hildebrandtii (Engl.) Milve-Redh. and Zanthoxylum chalybeum Engl. Acacia mellifera (Vahl) Benth., Amaranthus albus L., Balanites glabra Mildbr. & Schltr., Grewia fallax K. Schum., Lactuca capensis, Launaea cornuta (Oliv. & Hiern) O. Jeffrey, Lippia kituiensis Vatke, Pappea capensis Eckl. & Zeyh. and Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. are documented for the first time as being important in the management of chronic joint pains. Conclusions: The findings of this study show that a variety of medicinal plants are used in the management of chronic joint pains and the main mode of administration is oral. Keywords: Ethnobotanical survey; Medicinal plants; Chronic joint pains; Rheumatoid arthritis; Akamba; Machakos-Kenya

Eleven medicinal plants used by traditional healers in Machakos and Kitui District were screened, namely: Ajuga remota Benth, Aloe secundijlora Engl, Amaranthus hybridus L, Cassia didymobotrya Fes, Croton macrostachyus Del, Entada leptostachya Harms, Erythrina abyssinica DC, Harrisonia abyssinica Oliv, Schkuhria pinnata O. Ktze, Terminalia kilimandscharica Engl and Ziziphus abyssinica Hochst for potential antibacterial activity against four medically important bacterial strains, namely: Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Micrococcus lutea ATCC 9341 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. The antibacterial activity of methanol extracts was determined as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The plant extracts were more active against Gram-positive (G+) than Gram-negative (G-) bacteria. The positive controls were streptomycin and benzylpenicillin for G- and G+ bacteria, respectively, both had a significantMIC at <1mglmL. The most susceptible bacteria were B. cereus, followed by M. lutea, while the most resistant bacteria were Ps, aeruginosa, followed by E. coli. The present study supports the use of these plants by the herbalists in the management of bacterial ailments. H. abyssinica and T. kilimandscharica showed the best antibacterial activity; hence these plants can be further subjected to phytochemical and pharmacological evaluation.

Aim of the study: This study was conducted to document herbal medicines used in the treatment of malaria as well as the existing knowledge, attitudes and practices related to malaria recognition, control and treatment in South Coast, Kenya. Methods: Data was collected using semistructured questionnaires and interviews. A focused group discussion held with the community members, one in each of the study villages supplemented the interview and questionnaire survey. Results: The respondents were found to have a good understanding of malaria and could distinguish it from other fever types. They were also aware that malaria was spread by mosquitoes. Malaria prevalence was high, and affected individuals an average of four times a year. Community members avoided mosquito bites by using mosquito nets, clearing bushes around their homesteads and burning plant parts to generate smoke. They prevented and treated malaria by taking decoctions or concoctions of traditional herbal remedies. Forty plant species in thirty-five genera distributed in twenty-four families were used as antimalarials in the study area. Five plant species, namely; Heeria insignis Del. (Anacardiaceae), Rottboelia exaltata L.F (Gramineae), Pentanisia ouranogyne S. Moore (Rubiaceae), Agathisanthenum globosum (A. Rich) Hiern (Rubiaceae), and Grewia trichocarpa Hochst ex A. Rich (Tiliaceae) are documented for the first time in South Coast, Kenya, for the treatment of malaria. Conclusions: The plants documented in the current study are a potential source for new bioactive compounds of therapeutic value in malaria treatment. The results provide data for further pharmacological and toxicological studies and development of commercial antimalarial phytotherapy products.

Nicandra physaloides (L) Gaertn (Solanaceae), commonly known as the ‘apple of Peru’ is widely associated with livestock poisoning. The clinical signs associated with its poisoning in ruminants appear within 6 hours of ingestion and are circling, tremors of the hind limbs, tachycardia, bloat, convulsions, coma and death. However, there is no published information on the toxicology of this plant in Kenya. This study documents Nicandra physaloides toxicity in two different zero-grazed dairy cattle herds that were inadvertently fed on Napier grass contaminated with Nicandra physaloides. In addition to the case studies, the toxicity of the aqueous extracts from the different parts of Nicandra physaloides was studied under experimental conditions in mice. The 24 hour median lethal dose (LD50) was determined after intra-peritoneal injection (i.p.) of the aqueous extracts of the plant into white Swiss mice and found to be 1820, 2580 and 3620 mg/kg body weight for the leaves, fruits and whole plant respectively. The clinical signs in mice appeared within 30 minutes of inoculation and included coat, decreased locomotor activity, increased respiratory rate, gasping for air and leaping into the air before collapsing into coma and death. There were similarities in the symptoms of the spontaneous poisoning in cattle and in the experimentally induced poisoning in mice.

An investigation on vegetation was carried out in one grazing paddock of the University of Nairobi, Veterinary Farm to establish the species of plants present and whether some were known to be poisonous. This investigation was carried out after reported cases of young dairy cattle manifesting signs of acute toxicity shortly after being grazed in this paddock. A check-list of the floristic composition of the site was exhaustively recorded and thirty two plant species were collected from the site. Five out of thirty two plants were suspected to be the possible cause of this poisoning as they have been reported before to have toxic effects. These were botanically identified as Ranunculus multifidus Forsk, Cassia didymobotrya Fres, Ricinus communis L., Datura stramonium L. and Momordica foetida Schum. It is concluded that some of these plants may be responsible for the poisoning and further studies on their level of toxicity and distribution in the farm needs to be determined.

The purpose of this investigation was to establish the incidences of tick borne diseases (TBD) in cattle. The diseases investigated were East Coast Fever (ECF), anaplasmosis and babesiosis. The data used was obtained from the large animal clinic of the Faculty of Veterinary medicine covering a period of 8 years (1996-2003). From the total number of bovine cases recorded (8706), the incidences of the clinical tick borne diseases was 7.8%, with ECF, anaplasmosis and babesiosis accounting for 62.9%, 32.8% and 4.3% of the cases respectively. The confirmed cases of the tick borne diseases represented 2% of all total bovine cases (8706) attended by ambulatory services over this period although only 42.7% were presented for laboratory confirmation. East Cost Fever, Anaplasmosis and babesiosis were confirmed in 65 %, 41.7% and 61.5% of their respective clinical cases. It was concluded that tick-borne diseases were a major problem and ECF was still the most prevalent tick-borne disease in this area. Issues on the number of cases in this area, sample collection, field and laboratory diagnosis are discussed

Anthelmintic activity of the water extracts of Albizia anthelmintica bark and Maerua- edulis root was evaluated in mice that had been experimentally infected with the intestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus. The mice were randomly allocated into six treatment groups and one control group. Groups, 2, and 3 were given an oral dose of water extracts of A. anthelmintica at 5gm/kg, 10gm/kg and 20gm/kg bodyweight respectively in a divided dose on day 17 post-infection. Groups 4, 5 and 6 were given water extracts of M. edulis at a dosage of 5gm/kg, 10gm/kg and 20gm/kg bodyweight respectively in a divided dose. Group 7 was the control and was concurrently given a double oral dose of 0.2ml of physiological saline each. Mortality of some mice was observed in four groups after treatment. Five days after treatment, faecal worm egg count reduction was determined. The results showed a percentage faecal H. polygyus egg count reduction of 72%. 69%, 50%, 42% in groups 2,6,3 and 1 respectively. Seven days after treatment there was a reduction in worm counts at postmortem of 68%, 36%, /5%, 19%, 16% and 14% in groups 1,5,2 3,6, and 4 respectively compared to untreated controls. These results indicate that the plant extracts had anthelmintic activity and support the use of these plants as anthelmintics

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Traditional medicines play an important role in the management of chronically painful and debilitating joint conditions, particularly in the rural Africa. However, their potential use as sources of medicines has not been fully exploited. The present study was carried to find the medicinal plants traditionally used to manage chronic joint pains in Machakos and Makueni counties in Kenya. Materials and methods: To obtain this ethnobotanical information, 30 consenting traditional herbal med-ical practitioners were interviewed exclusively on medicinal plant use in the management of chronic joint pains, in a pre-planned workshop. Results and discussion: In this survey, a total of 37 plants belonging to 32 genera and 23 families were cited as being important for treatment of chronic joint pains. The most commonly cited plant species were Pavetta crassipes K. Schum, Strychnos henningsii Gilg., Carissa spinarum L., Fagaropsis hildebrandtii (Engl.) Milve-Redh. and Zanthoxylum chalybeum Engl. Acacia mellifera (Vahl) Benth., Amaranthus albus L., Balanites glabra Mildbr. & Schltr., Grewia fallax K. Schum., Lactuca capensis, Launaea cornuta (Oliv. & Hiern) O. Jeffrey, Lippia kituiensis Vatke, Pappea capensis Eckl. & Zeyh. and Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. are documented for the first time as being important in the management of chronic joint pains. Conclusions: The findings of this study show that a variety of medicinal plants are used in the management of chronic joint pains and the main mode of administration is oral. Keywords: Ethnobotanical survey; Medicinal plants; Chronic joint pains; Rheumatoid arthritis; Akamba; Machakos-Kenya

The purpose of this investigation was to establish the mastitis status in the dairy herd of 110 cows (genetically heterogeneous Bos Taurus breeds). All the cows were examined by physical inspection of the udder and California Mastitis Test (CMT) carried out on milk from the quarters of the 89 cows in milk. A total of 37 milk samples were collected from affected quarters of 36 cows, which had visibly abnormal secretion or tested positive on CMT, and taken for bacteriological culture and sensitivity tests. The outcome was a prevalence of 40.4 % based on the cows in milk and 18.4% based on their quarters. From the 37 samples that were cultured, 36 had abundant bacterial growth. Of the bacteria isolated, 45 % were Corynebacteria, 30.0 % Staphylococci, 22.5% Streptococci and 2.65% Pseudomonas. Of the twelve antibacterial compounds used in the sensitivity tests, the bacteria were most sensitive to ampi-clox and cefaclor at 98% and lest sensitive to sulphamethoxazole and cotrimoxazole both at 2%. Pseudomonas was only sensitive to gentamycin, norfloxacin and tetracycline. From this investigation the prevalence of mastitis in the herd is fairly high and there is need for a comprehensive monitoring and control program for udder health in this herd

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the bioactivity of extracts of Chrysanthemum cineraraefolium Vis., Albizia anthelmintica A Brgn, Maerua edulis (Gilg) De wolf and Myrsine Africana L. Which are using tratitioanll as anthelmintic as using brine shrimp lethanitly test serial dilutions of 1000 ug/ml and 10 ug / ml of the extracts were put in five test tubes. Ten (10) brine shrimp larvae were immersed into each of the test tubes and the number surviving after 24 hours counted and the percentage mortality and LC for each extract was determined. Cl cinerariaefolium extract (pyrethrins) was active (LC 1000 ug/ml) of 18ug/ml. The methanol extacts of Maerua edulis, Maera subcordata and Myysine Africana were not active (LC 1000 ug/ml) the results indicated that C. cenerareafolium and A. Anthelmintica extracts have bioactivity and is the basis for their use as anthelmintic by pastoral communities. Brine shrimp lethality test was found to be a simple and rapid test and is thus recommended for similar studies.

Helminthoses is a major constraint to livestock production in Kenya. The control of these infections by the use of synthetic anthelmintics is constrained by a number of problems that include; lack of foreign exchange to import them, development of anthelmintic resistance, lack of finance to purchase them, unavailability and misuse due to lack of appropriate information. The use of plant anthelmintics would be a rational alternative to bridge these shortfalls. In some tropical countries, research work has been carried out to validate this possibility. In order to integrate plant anthelmintics in the overall helminth control in Kenya, there is a need to document research findings on indigenous knowledge, through carrying out experiments to determine efficacy, toxicity and optimum dosage rates. In addition, isolation and identification of active ingredients using current laboratory techniques will be a critical milestone.

D.W. Gakuya,1 P.M.F. Mbithi 1, T.E. Maitho2 and N.K.R. Musimba3 Department of Clinical Studies, 2. Department of Public Health, Pharmacology and Toxicology 3 Department of Range Management, University of Nairobi. Kenya. Abstract Helminthoses is a major constraint to livestock production in Kenya. The control of these infections by the use of synthetic anthelmintics is constrained by a number of problems that include; lack of foreign exchange to import them, development of anthelmintic resistance, lack of finance to purchase them, unavailability and misuse due to lack of appropriate information. The use of plant anthelmintics would be a rational alternative to bridge these shortfalls. In some tropical countries, research work has been carried out to validate this possibility. In order to integrate plant anthelmintics in the overall helminth control in Kenya, there is a need to document research findings on indigenous knowledge, through carrying out experiments to determine efficacy, toxicity and optimum dosage rates. In addition, isolation and identification of active ingredients using current laboratory techniques will be a critical milestone